


Preserve or Persevere

by Okaysha



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Happy Ending?, I Can't Help if I'm Melodramatic, Lots of Crying, Love Confessions, M/M, Pirates, Selkie Bokuto, The "sea" is basically its own character, Unhealthy Relationships, fantasyhaikyuuexchange2019, kinda tragic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 07:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21267554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okaysha/pseuds/Okaysha
Summary: Bokuto has lived happily with Akaashi the past few years.Or maybe he hasn't.





	Preserve or Persevere

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween to joiningthehqarmy! (This isn't very Halloween-y!)

Today was so bright and wonderful Bokuto just had to open all the windows and breathe in the salty sea breeze. Akaashi always grouched for him to keep the windows closed so bugs wouldn’t get in, but Akaashi wasn’t home now, was he? And Bokuto preferred bug-friends to a stuffy house. He even made a point to wedge open the window in Akaashi’s study — it wasn’t easy. Bokuto had to displace six precarious towers of books before he had access to the single window that let in light into Akaashi’s study. He forced it open with a grunt and, almost as if the wind had been expecting the invitation, a blast of salty air blew past Bokuto to claim the room. He rushed to steady one of the towers that began to sway, plucking about half the stack up and moving it to sit safely on Akaashi’s desk, avoiding crushing the collection of shells and preserved starfish spread out next to an open book on marine life. Bokuto was more creeped out by Akaashi's growing collection of dead sea creatures than bugs. He eyed the dried husk of a pufferfish delicately posed on top of a shelf. Yup. Creepy.

His stomach panged for attention, leading Bokuto to the kitchen. He'd eat and then probably think about what to make for dinner while waiting for Akaashi to come home, though, from the look of the sun, it was still gonna be a while before Akaashi finished with his work assisting the harbormaster. 

Bokuto headed for the huge pot of cold stew he'd left out, spooning it directly into his mouth. Akaashi didn’t like to be bothered while at work, but Bokuto still wished they could at least eat together. The days felt longer when Bokuto was home alone. 

Bokuto hoisted the pot into his arms, still eating out of it while he began to pace. After a few laps around the table, his eyes finally strayed far enough outside of his meal to land on a modestly wrapped lunchbox. 

“AH!” 

Akaashi forgot his lunch!

Akaashi was so meticulous when it came to his studies or work, but — Bokuto liked to think that maybe Akaashi left things intentionally. There were times were Akaashi forgot stuff, and Bokuto got to go visit him, dutifully bringing a forgotten lunch or maybe his coat when it was cold or an umbrella if it was raining. Akaashi would even let Bokuto stay and visit for a bit before telling Bokuto to go back home. 

Bokuto liked taking trips to town. He liked the walk along the canal, watching the surface of the water slap freely, dreaming that he was riding swift current flowing underneath. He liked passing strangers who greeted him kindly. He liked the crowds where he could hear gossip being passed around—sailors always had such exciting stories. They always were running into three things: giant storms, sea monsters, and pirates. He liked pirate stories best. (He'd already seen a fair share of storms and sea monsters) But, despite how much he liked it, Bokuto didn't get to go to town by himself very often. It made Akaashi nervous.

But Akaashi would forgive him if he disobeyed a little just to stop in at work. 

The harbor was busy as ever. Bokuto didn't know much about the work any of them were doing (he knew it wasn't the mapping and scheduling he saw Akaashi doing), but it seemed to consist mostly of moving crates from one place to the next. The air rang with bells and whistles and shouts… Bokuto's attention was stolen as few seagulls screamed while coasting by, then again by the shake and rumble under his feet as the docks struggled to support the two men tromping towards him while handling the shared weight of a trunk. Bokuto ducked out of the way, the men paying him no attention as they sought their destination. The smells of hot food was in the air as he passed the Hungry Captain, full in the lunch rush. Hopefully, Akaashi wasn't already one of their patrons eating inside. Pub food wasn’t a proper lunch. 

The harbormaster's quarters was ahead, moderately sized and built against the docks in a plain, sturdy design. About six men mulled outside their closed doors as Bokuto approached. 

“Is it locked or something?” Bokuto asked, slamming the doors open.

Inside, three people stared at him as he burst through.

Bokuto gave his brightest smile.

“Hey, hey, Akaashi!”

Harbormaster Saeko and the unfamiliar man beside her looked to Akaashi.

Outside, the men began to crowd the doorway, swaying to peek around each other, uncertain if they could come in.

Shooting a glance towards Saeko, Akaashi briskly stepped over to shut the door. He turned back to Bokuto, expression cold.

"Why aren't you at home?"

Bokuto's heart cracked like thunder in his chest. Maybe he was wrong to have come. 

Still, he presented the lunchbox, head bowed in shame. It felt like a terrible excuse.

“Lunch?” he said meekly.

Akaashi stared.

“...Oh.” 

Akaashi suddenly placed a hand on his head, causing Bokuto to nearly jump out of his skin. Akaashi stroked Bokuto’s surprisingly soft hair a few times, his demeanor back to his usual warm and caring self.

"Sorry. You should have said something sooner — You know I worry that you might wander away and get hurt again."

Yes, Akaashi did like to worry. 

"Thank you for bringing this though. I don't know what I'd do without you." 

With that, he gave Bokuto a pat on the arm, taking the lunchbox before turning back to business as usual.

No one told Bokuto to leave, so he figured he might as well stay. Bokuto trailed behind Akaashi. This wasn't the first time he'd observed Akaashi's work, and Harbormaster Saeko accepted it without question. 

However, one person still remained out of the loop. He was a fine looking man, as humans went. His hair was dark, like Akaashi's, but longer and unkempt, and he wore unusually fancy clothes. He must have been some sort of rich merchant type. Most shipmen wore modest work clothes — practical for the labor they did. This guy wore a long, sleeveless red waistcoat and a stark white undershirt complete with billowy sleeves. Golden buttons and black trim. And bright black boots cut up to the knees. 

As Bokuto's eyes came back up after his assessment, he could see the man had finished doing the same. He looked amused and Bokuto wished he could ask what he saw that was so funny.

“Anyway…” He leaned back over the map spread on the table before them, finger running a simulated course through the waters. He stopped and tapped after he wound around the bend of the coast. “Here.”

Harbormaster Saeko stared at the map for a long time before giving a squinty stare.

“Okay. So you were boarded. Who’s to say that they're still there? Seems like a stupid move if they've already acquired a ship as rich as you say yours was.”

“I’m not presumptuous enough to tell you how to run your harbor," The man said smoothly. "And I'm not saying that I have the answers. All I’m saying is  _ that-"  _ He tapped the map again. "-is where my ship was attacked by pirates.”

“PIRATES!?” The word flew from Bokuto’s mouth in a delighted bark.

Harbormaster Saeko and Akaashi shushed him simultaneously as the fancy man grinned.

"If I had thinner skin, I may have been upset that you seem to be a fan of my adversary!"

Bokuto straightened his smile out. That was right, wasn't it? Pirates were considered criminals in most scenarios. It was probably rude to look so pleased...BUT PIRATES!!! They were the only humans he knew who didn't just live by the sea or study the sea or work on the sea—they lived at sea! Of course, Akaashi openly disapproved the idea. It was too dangerous and the possibility of drowning was too risky. But the risk pirates took to live on the water was something Bokuto couldn't help but admire.

Akaashi glanced back from watching Bokuto.

He spoke under his breath, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Must not have put up much of a fight though.” He made a show of addressing his gaze to the merchant's undisturbed dress.

The man looked himself down as well and when his eyes came back up they were smug. “You trying to suggest somethin?”

Akaashi shrugged, eyes dead as the specimens in his collection. “I just found it unusual.”

The man smiled, this time not so friendly. 

Turning his attention back to Harbormaster Saeko, the merchant’s easy demeanor returned. “You can do what you like with what I’ve told you. Just thought I'd do my duty to at least get the word out.”

Harbormaster Saeko chewed on her thumb as she considered his words. Finally, a begrudging sigh. “Fine. Akaashi, make sure a notice gets to everybody at sea that there might be trouble coming round the eastern coast." A nod. "And gather some hands to patrol the area.”

Akaashi bowed his head to the orders of his superior. 

Coming out of his bow, Akaashi briskly walked to the edge of the room where his work station was kept. He set down the lunch next to a row of individual shark teeth. “Go home, Bokuto.” 

There was no room for negotiation. Akaashi didn’t even give Bokuto a second glance as he fussed about, gathering what he needed before butting shoulders with the fancy man while on his way out. 

The men waiting outside had multiplied, this time pushing in before they got another door to the face. 

Bokuto pushed against the current of sailors who’d begun to fill into the harbormaster’s quarters—Akaashi was already out of sight it seemed. 

“I know he’s got business to take care of, but everybody’s gotta eat.” The fancy merchant sailor caught up with Bokuto outside, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. “Such a  _ waste _ .”

Bokuto withered.

“H-hey, now!” The merchant stuttered with an uneasy grin. “Was I mistaken in thinking it was  _ I  _ who was robbed by a crew of pirates today? Because any bloke with eyes would see us together and guess you’re the one who lost something.”

Bokuto huffed out a laugh, surprised to feel his mood improving already.

Seeing his attempt at lightening the atmosphere worked the merchant preened, his gait becoming a bit more jaunty. "That's better. Now it'll be a 50/50 guess as to who was robbed today." He looked his company over and added with a teasing tone, "Although, maybe you're  _ too _ happy now. Hopefully that's the product of my natural charisma and not because you enjoy my suffering."

Bokuto smiled even further. 

"I don't enjoy your suffering!" 

Bokuto paused in thought. " _ Well— _ ”

The man cocked an eyebrow.  _ “Well?” _

“ _ Well… _ I’m not saying I  _ enjoy  _ it, but—”

“But?”

“Pirates are kinda cool, aren’t they? No disrespect, but how’d you survive? That’s so scary!!!”

The merchant didn’t seem to mind. 

“ _ Well… _ ” the man eeked out as he weighed what to say. Or pretended to.

Bokuto ate the act up, barely withholding the instinct to bounce in eagerness.

“Maybe I could tell you the whole, rowsing, exciting tale...in exchange for a meal?” the man finally concluded.

Bokuto couldn’t have asked for anything better. 

“YES!  _ Yeah!”  _ His arms flailed in emphasis. “Of course! I’m mostly only good at simple stuff, but I make up for it by making a lot!”

The merchant tilted his head, amusement on his lips. “Oh- And what’s your name, friend?” 

Bokuto felt a thrill at the title of friendship. He’d never had a human friend outside Akaashi. 

“Bokuto!”

The man put a hand out. “I think I’ve taken long enough to introduce myself. The name’s Kuroo.”

Bokuto took it, feeling Kuroo’s grip tighten to a herculean degree. He squeezed back in equal strength as they shook, Kuroo grinning sharply in approval.

* * *

Bokuto had more energy than he knew what to do with. If he were back in his old skin, he would have swum circles around the entire continent in his excitement. Now, he had to settle for large gestures and jitter-like leg bouncing. He loved his new friend! Kuroo was so cool and nice and great at telling heart-racing stories about his travels of the open sea. Like other sailors, there were stories of terrible storms and massive sea monsters...but there were also tales of treasure hunting and the songs they’d sing and how they’d met certain crew members and the view from all different corners of the world.

They ate and talked until there was nothing left to eat. 

Noticing how they were scraping the bottom of the pot, Bokuto sprung up. 

“I’ll make more if you have more stories to tell!” 

He didn’t wait for a response before he started preparing more food, metal clinking against metal in Bokuto’s haste.

Kuroo leaned over the back of the kitchen chair to watch Bokuto stumble with the beginnings of meal prep. “Hey, thanks for the offer but you don’t gotta. Can’t risk losing my handsome figure, ya know.” 

The tone was playful, but Bokuto felt his words heavily. 

He forced out a laugh, attempting to fight off the tidal wave of emotions threatening to bear down on him. 

“Well, that doesn’t mean you have to leave, right? We’re having fun, right?” Bokuto asked.

Kuroo quieted. 

Oh no. That couldn’t be a good sign. Bokuto had upset him somehow, hadn’t he? 

There was a pressure in his chest like he was sinking. Bokuto put a hand over it.

Kuroo cleared his throat. 

Bokuto looked again.

Kuroo’s eyes weren’t cold like he’d expected. They were impassioned.

“Don’t _ you  _ want to leave?”

The question caught Bokuto off guard.

“I’ve known you for half a day and I can already tell you’d be happier out of this place.” Kuroo signaled to the place that had been Bokuto’s home for his past few years on land. “But if you want...you could come with me. Live life at sea.” 

Whenever Bokuto was upset, his emotions became something like a storm cloud. Gray skies and wind and rain and lightning and thunder. Sudden and intense. But when Kuroo offered him a life at sea—

It wasn’t a storm. 

It was a long time coming. Like sailing past the horizon only to discover you've been taking on water the entire trip. Bokuto was sinking inside himself because, more than anything, he did want to return to the sea.

Kuroo stood, straightening his coat. He avoided eye contact as he mumbled out, “Sorry if that was weird. Came out more elope-y than I’d planned. I can go-”

“I can’t.” 

Bokuto’s words stopped Kuroo in place.

“It’s too dangerous.”

Kuroo’s eyebrows scrunched into a frown. “Who told you that? That pencil-pusher you were with? What does he know anyway?”

"It's for the best,” Bokuto repeated the words Akaashi would tell him. “A few years ago, I almost died in a storm. Akaashi was the one who found and pulled me to safety. Now all he wants is to make sure I stay that way.” 

"But what about what you want?"

Bokuto really wanted it with all his heart but—

“Look at me…” Bokuto spread his arms wide. “I can’t swim like this.”

Kuroo squinted.

“Like what? Are you sick?”

Bokuto shook his head. 

“It’s this form. I can’t swim without my skin.”

And before he knew it, Bokuto’s tears began to flow, the salty tracks a tasting like home. 

He wanted to go back  _ so badly _ —he was always told it was for the best. For years. He  _ liked  _ Akaashi, he was _ happy  _ with Akaashi... but now he was being asked what he wanted for himself. And Bokuto had to admit, for the first time in a long time, that he wanted to go home. This wasn’t where he belonged. 

But how could he return without his skin?

Kuroo went from bewildered to sympathetic, quickly followed by a rush of anger. He didn’t have to ask what Bokuto meant. Legends of selkies were popular on both land and sea. Beings who were often taken advantage of by lonely souls — a partner forever if you captured their seal skin.

“Where’s he keeping it?”

Bokuto blinked through his tears, arms falling to his sides.

“What?”

“Did he hide it somewhere?”

His skin? 

“ _ No… _ ” Bokuto replied slowly. “He keeps it in the trunk. At the end of the bed.”

Kuroo pushed his way toward the back of the house, opening the first door he came to.

Bokuto trailed behind, stopping in the doorway to watch as Kuroo dragged the large trunk out of place, worn and clasped tightly shut.

“It’s locked,” Bokuto said in case he hadn’t noticed. “He keeps the key with him.”

It was the only accessory Akaashi wore.

Kuroo gave it a tug anyway. When it didn't move, he huffed. “Well, either way, from experience I can say there’s more than one way to open a lock.”

His hands dropped into his pockets — the left then the right — fishing around before he frowned. “Must've left them in my other jacket.”

He gauged the light outside. 

“I’ll be right back.”

“No!” Bokuto stepped in the way, scared of the tightening in his chest. “Take me with you.”

Kuroo chuckled breathily. “I'm not gonna leave without you. I’ll be back, I promise.”

He went to step around and was blocked again.

“Please.”

Whatever was causing him to hesitate didn't seem to hold up to Bokuto's sincere request. “...alright. Come on.”

With that, Bokuto trailed along as Kuroo followed the canal the way back to the harbor, taking them to a rowboat dragged ashore a rocky, secluded beach. 

Kuroo held a hand to Bokuto’s chest, stopping him as they approached. 

“Could you wait here? It’ll just be a sec.”

Bokuto allowed that much, watching curiously as Kuroo went to lean inside. 

He pulled up an entirely different set of clothes, the act of unrolling them causing something heavy and blade-like to tumble heavily to the bottom of the boat. Kuroo ignored it, plunging into the pockets of the blackened coat until he found a few slender tools that glinted in the dusky light. He put them in his pocket, then picked up a sharp and shining cutlass. He wrapped the spare coat around the blade before stowing it away as he'd found it. 

Kuroo returned, confidence brimming. “Got ‘em. Let’s go-”

He began to walk past when it was Bokuto stopped with a hand to his bicep. 

“Why are you doing this?”

Kuroo stared.“Why am I helping you?”

Bokuto was silent. 

It didn’t suit him.

“Well… the sea is my home too. Helping you is kind of like helping a loved one, isn’t it?”

Bokuto’s heart began to race and he released his grip.

Kuroo chuckled bashfully. “Alright? So let’s go.”

The light was fading quickly on their trip back. Kuroo took the lead, entering the house force and fluidity. Akaashi wasn’t back yet. 

The trunk was where they’d left it, pulled out at a slight angle and lock steadfast.

Kuroo took a knee, pulling out two metal tools, long and thin, that he began to poke inside the locking mechanism.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Bokuto asked.

Kuroo’s tongue poked out of his lips as he concentrated with a frown and a grunt. “I learned...it in...my offtime,” he said between his delicate movements. 

“You’re so cool!”

“Heh. Well, you’re probably gonna be pretty cool yourself once your free and have your skin-” Kuroo twisted his wrist while levering his other hand down. There was a heavy click as the lock loosened. Bokuto excitedly grabbed to lid, throwing the latch up and forcing the chest open. 

The top was lined with more of Akaashi’s tools of study. Heavy textbooks on sea-life, maps and star charts, gages and notebooks, unlabeled solution bottles and hooks and needles and pins and scissors and clamps — they shoveled it all aside until they were surrounded by all the bits and pieces of Akaashi’s equipment. 

Bokuto’s heart raced again, this time in panic.

“Are you sure he kept it here?” Kuroo asked. 

Bokuto swallowed thickly. Well, that’s what Akaashi had told him when he woke up all those years ago. 

There were stories spread amongst the selkies — stories of their kin being caught by humans when they were most vulnerable. Made to be a husband or wife. When Bokuto woke up, skin missing and face-to-face with a human...he’d assumed the worst. He’d been captured and he’d never see his home again. But then...Akaashi spoke. So gently. With such reverence and amazement and curiosity. With such  _ care _ . He told how he’d worried that Bokuto might have been dead. That he’d brought him to his home and stopped the bleeding from his head.  _ “Thank goodness you’re safe,”  _ he’d breathed out in relief. And it felt good to be cared for. _ “Don’t worry.”  _ His hand ran over Bokuto’s damp hair. Akaashi seemed to already know a lot about selkies. He asked Bokuto about his life, listening with rapt attention as Bokuto became more and more animated in the presence of a captive audience. They talked for hours and at the end of it, Bokuto had asked about his skin. Akaashi’s eyes froze over — just a moment. He reached up to the key around his neck.  _ “It’s safe in the trunk at the end of the bed. I hoped knowing it was close would bring you comfort.” _

Bokuto stood up, at a loss. Had Akaashi lied to him? 

“I-I’ll talk to Akaashi.” He spoke with a certainty that he couldn’t back up. “I’ll just tell him I need it, and he’ll listen.” 

He wanted to believe that would be true. Akaashi would give the skin back. Akaashi couldn’t be keeping it away from him on purpose. Akaashi had tenderly cared and worried about Bokuto so much. 

Bokuto left Kuroo alone, intent to face Akaashi. 

His search ended quickly. The kitchen table was occupied. 

Akaashi stared at him cooly with his dark eyes, stroking something spread across the table. Bokuto’s skin.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto was shocked like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. “What are you doing?”

Akaashi’s fingertips gently traced across the pelt. “I just came home from work. I’m waiting for dinner, so we can eat together like always.”

Kuroo entered the room behind Bokuto. 

Akaashi made an unusually expressive scowl.

Bokuto stepped forward. “Akaashi…”

Akaashi’s expression softened. “Yes?”

“You saved me, and always made sure I’ve been safe. And...I’m happy for the care you’ve given me this whole time. But, I’d like to take my skin back now—I can take care of it myself.”

Akaashi hand continued to smooth over the pelt. 

He spoke to the skin directly, ignoring Bokuto. “I did everything I could to make you comfortable. I know I left you home, by yourself, but I was out working hard for you. For us. And I always come back, don’t I? I care for you. More than anyone else. I thought you felt the same way...”

Kuroo laughed harshly. “Keeping him safe, huh? That’s a kind way to say that you’ve been keeping him here against his will!”

Akaashi ignored Kuroo, focusing on Bokuto like they were the only ones in the room.

“Bokuto, you don’t want to stay with me?” He asked, eyes and voice gentle. 

Bokuto felt a pang in his chest. “I mean- I—maybe I could visit you sometimes! Or-  _ Or! _ You could come with us!”

Akaashi’s eyes lowered back to the pelt. His voice was quiet and level. “You weren’t even going to say goodbye, were you? Even after I kept you safe all this time? I gave you everything I could to make you happy. I loved you.  _ I love you. _ And you’re still going to leave?” 

Bokuto froze.

This was the first confession he’d ever received from Akaashi. He was panicking. 

“I’m...I’m sor-”

“I call bullshit,” Kuroo interrupted. “If you really cared about Bokuto, you would have given him the freedom to leave years ago—I’ve seen what was in that chest. You’ve been studying. Probably planning for years and prowling the beach after every storm, just  _ waiting _ to find one of them. Strip them from their freedom. You of all people know that if given the choice between land and sea, prison and home, every selkie will choose the sea. Except for when they meet losers like you who don’t give them a choice.”

Akaashi sneered. “People like you are the reason I didn’t want Bokuto wandering around by himself. He was perfectly happy before-”

“No, I  _ wasn’t _ .”

Akaashi’s turned to him in surprise. 

“I-I mean- I wasn’t always happy. I think I really missed the sea, but I didn’t want to worry you.”

Akaashi said nothing.

“And I’m sorry I didn’t realize your feelings. But, even then, if you do...love...me, please. Please, can you return my skin?” 

As Bokuto reached forward, Akaashi stood abruptly, knocking back his chair, causing Bokuto to flinch back.

“No!” Akaashi’s voice was loud and authoritative, a tone Bokuto had never heard from him before. “How many times do I have to tell you—you’re only safe  _ here _ . You can’t leave. I won’t let you go.”

“Oh, get  _ over  _ yourself!” Kuroo slammed his hands down on the table, reaching for the pelt. 

Akaashi snatched it, clutching it to his heart.

“And you-! Get out of my house!”

“Akaashi!” Bokuto tried to intervene, nearly missing being kicked in the head as Kuroo tackled Akaashi across the table, grasping onto the pelt.

They fell back with a thud on the wooden floor, rolling, tugging, kicking, trying to wrench the precious pelt from the other’s grip. 

“You’re not taking him anywhere-” Akaashi parsed out, managing to get himself on top. He angled to press his knee against Kuroo’s throat until the Kuroo’s face began to redden and little choking gasps began to squeeze out of him.

Bokuto grabbed Akaashi from behind, pulling Akaashi’s arms back. “Stop it!” 

He dragged him off, relieved to hear at Kuroo gasp to take in air again.

Akaashi swiftly elbowed Bokuto in the ribs to knock him back and scramble toward the door. Fearing how he might lose sight of him, Bokuto took a diving tackle. He grabbed a hold of his stolen skin. It’d been so long since he’d seen it...yet it was still so familiar and felt perfect in his hands.

“Please Akaashi,” he tried to reason. “I won’t get hurt, so please just give it back!”

Akaashi squirmed underneath him, unrelenting. “You don’t get it! This isn’t about what you want—you are mine! I found you! You don’t get to leave! I don’t care if you hate me, you still have to stay with me!”

Bokuto felt his heart snap.

What was this? Why was Akaashi saying such things? Akaashi was his friend. Akaashi wasn’t like those other humans who stole Selkie skin. He was  _ kind, _ and... and... 

Akaashi wriggled out of Bokuto’s grip. 

“If I have your skin, you’re mine and you have no choice but to stay. That’s how you creatures work!”

Akaashi yanked again, but this time...something gave. With an ugly ripping noise, Bokuto watched in disbelief as his skin tore apart in two.

Akaashi landed on the floor, just as stunned, clenching the other half of a whole pelt. 

Their eyes met.

“I-” Akaashi looked down at the remains in his hands. “I’m- I’m sorry.” 

Akaashi’s voice sounded broken. Bokuto felt broken too. 

Akaashi dropped the skin, crawling on his hands and knees towards Bokuto. He grabbed him by the shoulders, eyes more alight than Bokuto had ever witnessed, glistening with tears. “Bokuto, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want you to leave. Don’t worry. I... I can fix it. I’ll find a way. Please. I can fix it, please. You don’t have to leave. I love you. Please, I can fix it. Don’t leave. Don’t leave me. Don’t-”

Bokuto’s eyes spilled fresh tracks down his cheeks. 

This was it. 

There was no coming back from this. 

He would never be able to return to the sea… He couldn’t go home. 

“Bokuto are you listening? Bokuto, please, I can try to fix it. I’ve studied your kind, maybe I can find a way-”

Bokuto half-heartedly shoved Akaashi aside. 

“No.”

“But! Bokuto-”

“I said  _ no! _ ” Bokuto yelled. Then sniffled. Then sobbed.

“I’m sorry-” Akaashi started up again. 

“All I wanted was to go back to where I belong! And I’ve been so lonely! What am I going to do! I can’t stand being here anymore! My friend who I thought was my friend ISN’T my friend. And I’m  _ never _ going to be free...”

He buried his face in what was left of his skin, crying into the soft, familiar texture. He felt Akaashi hug him, and for the first time, Bokuto really hated Akaashi. Akaashi blubbered a steady flow of apologizes, but they fell on deaf ears. 

“Leave him alone-” warned Kuroo’s gravelly voice. 

Bokuto felt as Akaashi was pulled off of him and silenced. 

Kuroo knelt down to replace him. 

“I can’t go back,” Bokuto cried. “My skin. It’s-”

“I know. I’m...I’m sorry,” Kuroo softly offered.

“It’s not your fault! You were trying to help me,” Bokuto cried out.

Kuroo ran a hand over Bokuto’s back.

“What am I going to do? I can’t stay here—but where else can I go?”

Kuroo worked to sound optimistic. “Well...it’s not going to be exactly what you wanted...but my offer still stands. You can come with me. The sea can still be your home.”

Bokuto looked up, his chest squeezing tight once he faced Kuroo. 

“Can I really?”

Kuroo scoffed lightly. “Pshh, yea!” 

It was inappropriately cheery considering the loss Bokuto had experienced. But somehow, it still worked as a comfort.

Kuroo pulled Bokuto to his feet. 

“Although,” Kuroo continued, “it’s not gonna be an easy life. My crew can be pretty rowdy at times.”

Bokuto tilted his head quizzically.“I thought that a pirate stole your ship?”

“Oh?” Kuroo eyes shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t tell you?  _ I’m  _ the pirate. You kinda caught me in the middle of a con. I was trying to get intel on your harbor’s ship routes so we could attack easier.”

“What?”  _ A real life pirate? _

“Yeah! So, uh, if you have any moral stances against piracy... It’s not a victimless crime so I completely get it if you don’t wanna-”

“I  _ love _ pirates!” Bokuto exclaimed, throwing his arms around Kuroo as fresh tears sprung to his eyes. 

Kuroo chuckled breathily as he returned the embrace. “O-ok, good! That makes things easier.” 

Bokuto tried not to let his runny nose get all over Kuroo, pulling back with a sniff.

“So, let’s get out of here,” Kuroo said, nodding to the door.

Bokuto wiped the moisture from his eyes. “Yeah. Please.”

As they left to exit the house though, Bokuto realized his skin was nowhere to be found. It was gone, Akaashi gone along with it. 

“Do you want to go find it?” Kuroo asked.

Bokuto hesitated but decided even if he’d found his skin, this didn’t strike him as something he wanted to preserve. Not when had to look forward to returning to his rightful home.

He held Kuroo like a lifeline as the pirate led him to meet the sea. And as they took the rowboat and struck out onto the open water, he watched the beach where he had first met Akaashi get smaller and smaller and smaller.

Finally, Bokuto turned his gaze to the front and was happy that all he could see was Kuroo, and the wide, blue, open sea. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yo-ho, yo-ho~ A pirates life for me!


End file.
